Guniea Pig Toenails

[Maine Mary]

Any advice on how to trim them? Serious Q here. :-) My guniea pig's toenails are getting too long. Do I have to take him to the vet or can I trim the things myself? I don't know of any GP groomers around here. Ey Yi Yi. It's a good thing the little guy's great personality makes up for his hygiene issues. :crazy:

[GOPisEvil]

1. What chapter is this in your "Animal Tales of Woe"?

LMAO!!! :D

[Maine Mary]

3. Chapt. 48, Volumn VII

LOL! :-)

[StopTheMorans]

2. not to be alarmist:)

but just be careful, it is really easy to cut them too close and then they bleed a lot (I used to have guinea pigs as a child):)

[qb]

4. I'll bet a standard cat or dog nail trimmer will work

If you can't see where the blood is inside the nail, a good rule of thumb (for dogs, anyway) is to cut BELOW the point where the nail starts to curve. If this means only cutting a tiny bit, that's okay. You can trim them a little bit every few weeks until they're short enough.

[trof]

5. Just get out your trusty Dremel Rotary Tool

and grrrrind 'em down.
;-)

[kmla]

6. Maybe if you put sand paper

on that little bitty wheel he runs in at night, the problem would take care of itself.

But then again, there may be that guinea pig callous problem to deal with...

:D

[Crewleader]

7. I think you can do it Mary....even with large toe nail clippers

they are not that big, just do the tips....and they sure are cute! :hi:

[Coffee Coyote]

8. I think it's a delicacy in Belgium

I could be wrong. :D

[Maine Mary]

9. Eeeewww! LOL!

And all this time thought my rice was undercooked at the airport food court in Brussels. :puke: Just Kidding. I couldn't FIND a food court in the airport there. Very weird airport.


BTW- To those who told me I can clip my Pig, thanks. You saved me some money. I tried the big nail clippers and it works. Managed to do only one though. I'm gonna have to wait till SO gets home because this is going to be a 2 person job. "Piglet" is too squirmy and will have to be held. :-)

[leftofthedial]

10. you're gonna have to soak them in a marinade at least overnight

or they'll be way too tough to chew.

Try lining the inside of the little guinea pig wheel with sandpaper.

[Xithras]

11. My daughter has one

Do NOT use regular trimmers or scissors to cut the nails, as those will usually crack it, causing major pain for the poor guinea. Any big pet store with a decent rodent section (like Petco) can sell you a good pair of small animal guillotine nail trimmers, and usually explain how to use them. We also bought my daughter a book ("Caring For Your Guinea Pig") that explains exactly how and where to trim them.